Turlock takes aim at strollers, bicycles left by homeless people

Turlock soon will give homeless people and others less time to leave their bicycles, baby strollers filled with blankets and clothing, and other belongings in its parks, along its streets and in other public areas in effort to reduce blight.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 5-0 to reduce how much notice Turlock must give people to remove their possessions left or stored in public areas before the city steps in and removes the property.

The council also approved another action that is expected to provide more help for homeless people by expanding a Turlock Gospel Mission program it funds.

The city now posts notices on personal property giving owners seven days to remove their property before the city does. The notices soon will be for one day.

One homeless man in Denair Park on Tuesday afternoon said he didn’t think the change would make a difference because he said homeless people know to take their property with them and not to leave it behind.

The man declined to give his name but was resting in the park along with a second homeless man, who also declined to give his name. Their possessions were all around them, but at the other end of the park there were bicycles, bike parts and other items stacked around a tree trunk with no one in sight.

The city stores the property it removes for 90 days with no fee to reclaim it. If the property is not claimed within that time, the city can have it destroyed. Fire Marshal Mark Gomez told council members Tuesday that 100,000 pounds of property were destroyed last year.

He said in an interview the city keeps Social Security and ID cards and other documents it finds among the property to give the owners the chance to claim them. Gomez also said most of the property is left by homeless people, but others leave property, too.

Councilman Bill DeHart said the change from seven days to one day seemed drastic. But Gomez said city officials reviewed their options and what other cities do in deciding to ask the council to approve the change. Gomez said this will give Turlock a better tool to deal with blight.

Gomez said it was hard for him to quantify how often the city picks up personal property, but said it can happen from three times to 12 to 15 times a month.

The council also unanimously approved Tuesday increasing the scope of the Gospel Mission program that provides diversion services, including case management, for people who violate the city’s municipal code. The increased scope includes the mission’s providing a navigation and outreach program to help homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless find housing and other help.

The council appropriated $17,000 to pay for the additional services.

The navigator will work 30 hours a week and “will provide street-level case management services to a minimum of 30 individuals weekly,” according to a city report.

The city also is working with the mission on having it potentially provide storage space for homeless people’s possessions.

Mayor Gary Soiseth said in an interview that Turlock is trying to keep its parks and other public areas clean while providing help for homeless people.

The change in how much notice the city provides for personal property left in public areas won’t take effect until mid October.

But one thing won’t change. People who find notices on their possessions still will be able to come into compliance simply by moving their bike parts, carts and other possessions, say from one part of a park to another, and the city would then have to issue another notice.

But Gomez said providing less notice should make a difference. Soiseth said Turlock is taking an incremental approach and if this change is not effective, the city can revisit tightening these regulations.

This story was originally published August 15, 2018 at 5:32 PM.